Today I was called by a law office representing a post acute/LTC facility I previously worked at full time and still work at on call. They want me to come in for an interview. They said the facility is being sued regarding a patient who rolled out of bed and hit his head, requiring transfer to an acute care hospital with ICU stay.
The patient came in after a stroke, and when his wife asked me "so when I leave and go home right now, you're guaranteeing me he won't fall?" to which I replied "absolutely not, the only way to do that is to get a 1:1 CNA and the facility is not doing that at this time."
The law office said that its the facility and their insurance policy the lawsuit is after, not me, but how can I trust them not to try and throw me under the bus to save the facility? Any suggestions on how to handle this interview? I have NSO Liability Insurance but I don't want to accidentally incriminate myself somehow.
You don't work for that company anymore and no way would I go in for that interview.
DO NOT call your personal insurance carrier UNLESS you get a subpoena to appear in court.
Tell them you simply don't want to get involved because you don't work for that agency anymore and you are under no obligation to even return their calls nor emails.
>DO NOT call your personal insurance carrier UNLESS you get a subpoena to appear in court.
Why not exactly? Do you think they would kick me off the policy? Or charge me more for it?
NSO doesn't provide coverage for personal legal representation for this type of meeting, if you are at some point called for a deposition then NSO does provide deposition representation, but in my experience this only involves a lawyer telling you via phone call to tell the truth and not offer more than what is asked, which is the same thing your employer's lawyers will tell you.
Yes, I just called them and sadly this is the information I got as well. It seems unlikely I will be named in the suit since I wasn't on duty when the fall happened (thank god) but I am still frightened. This could have happened to anyone.
You don't work for that company anymore and no way would I go in for that interview.
DO NOT call your personal insurance carrier UNLESS you get a subpoena to appear in court.
Tell them you simply don't want to get involved because you don't work for that agency anymore and you are under no obligation to even return their calls nor emails.
He says he still works there "on call," which sounds like PRN.
Apparently he also has already called his insurance carrier.
OP, what did the NSO representative advise you to do with regard to the requested interview?
I believe it's standard practice in a lawsuit to interview every employee that had contact with the resident during their stay. It's only happened to me once and that was years ago but at that time my employer had everybody on the to be interviewed list come in and review that resident's chart beforehand. As I had minimal involvement with that particular resident I was briefly interviewed by the legal team and never was deposed but it was still a nerve wracking experience. I do remember that lawyer's from both sides were there when I was interviewed but I honestly don't remember if lawyers from both sides asked questions or if it was just the legal team that requested the interview asking. I don't know if it matters but it was the respondents [my employers] legal that was requesting the interviews.
As you are still employed by the respondent even if it is just as a casual/on call capacity I'd cooperate with the interview process if it is the facilities legal team requesting the interview but I would ask for the time to review the resident's chart beforehand. If it is the plaintiff's legal team requesting the interview I'd check with the employer's legal team before committing to an interview as you should still have the ability to review the chart before speaking about anything involved with that resident's care. I'm not a lawyer but I am reasonably sure that even if it's not an official deposition anything said in that interview is most likely admissible. Don't lie about anything but don't offer any information beyond what is asked.
>DO NOT call your personal insurance carrier UNLESS you get a subpoena to appear in court.
Why not exactly? Do you think they would kick me off the policy? Or charge me more for it?
I'll be happy to clarify that for you. First of all, they don't kick you off a policy for something like that, so let's dispel that myth.
Second, you don't want to call your insurance carrier to ask a question every single time something comes up where you get questioned. Make too many of those calls and ask questions and they will cut you off because your risk will go up. Those calls are logged whether you realize it or not. It factors into your rating.
You are never under any legal obligation to speak to any attorney without a court order--period. Too many naive nurses thinks that an attorney request holds weight...it holds zero weight. It legally means nothing. They have no legal authority to force you to speak with them. Only a court does.
That...is what the chart is for. The biggest problem I see with newer nurses is lack of charting skills. Absolutely drives me crazy as a provider. If you can't tell someone in 20 years what you did with that patient? You didn't chart enough.
He says he still works there "on call," which sounds like PRN.
Apparently he also has already called his insurance carrier.
OP, what did the NSO representative advise you to do with regard to the requested interview?
NSO advised me to go to the interview, which I did. They were correct, the lawyer for the facility being sued said it was extremely unlikely I was going to be named in a lawsuit, largely because I don't have any money. Same with the other staff. They were asking questions about Eskaton in general, and also my documentation, which I was very relieved to see included me ordering a sitter to bedside at all times, bed in low/locked position, fall mats at bedside, call light within reach, and side rails x2 for maneuvering.
On 12/13/2019 at 12:25 PM, kbrn2002 said:
I believe it's standard practice in a lawsuit to interview every employee that had contact with the resident during their stay. It's only happened to me once and that was years ago but at that time my employer had everybody on the to be interviewed list come in and review that resident's chart beforehand. As I had minimal involvement with that particular resident I was briefly interviewed by the legal team and never was deposed but it was still a nerve wracking experience. I do remember that lawyer's from both sides were there when I was interviewed but I honestly don't remember if lawyers from both sides asked questions or if it was just the legal team that requested the interview asking. I don't know if it matters but it was the respondents [my employers] legal that was requesting the interviews.
As you are still employed by the respondent even if it is just as a casual/on call capacity I'd cooperate with the interview process if it is the facilities legal team requesting the interview but I would ask for the time to review the resident's chart beforehand. If it is the plaintiff's legal team requesting the interview I'd check with the employer's legal team before committing to an interview as you should still have the ability to review the chart before speaking about anything involved with that resident's care. I'm not a lawyer but I am reasonably sure that even if it's not an official deposition anything said in that interview is most likely admissible. Don't lie about anything but don't offer any information beyond what is asked.
I'll be happy to clarify that for you. First of all, they don't kick you off a policy for something like that, so let's dispel that myth.
Second, you don't want to call your insurance carrier to ask a question every single time something comes up where you get questioned. Make too many of those calls and ask questions and they will cut you off because your risk will go up. Those calls are logged whether you realize it or not. It factors into your rating.
You are never under any legal obligation to speak to any attorney without a court order--period. Too many naive nurses thinks that an attorney request holds weight...it holds zero weight. It legally means nothing. They have no legal authority to force you to speak with them. Only a court does.
That...is what the chart is for. The biggest problem I see with newer nurses is lack of charting skills. Absolutely drives me crazy as a provider. If you can't tell someone in 20 years what you did with that patient? You didn't chart enough.
Thank you very much!
So after going to the interview with the lawyer from the facility being sued, they gathered a lot of general information about the facility and asked many questions about the patient and family. They said I am not being named and no other employees are, and that if the case does not settle I will be subpoenaed for a deposition in 2020/2021. That's all for now, really.
So after going to the interview with the lawyer from the facility being sued, they gathered a lot of general information about the facility and asked many questions about the patient and family. They said I am not being named and no other employees are, and that if the case does not settle I will be subpoenaed for a deposition in 2020/2021. That's all for now, really.
Thanks to everyone replying in this thread!
They are never going to question you and tell you up front you are being accused of anything. I am not in any way suggesting that you are, but I can tell you--this is how they get nurses to talk.
If you are not being named and no employees are, then why are they asking any questions of anyone?
frenchxtoast
43 Posts
The respondent, I believe. They claim to be representing the facility I work at.